Calligraphy Practice
by Extra Large Cows
Summary: Katara decides to rope the gang into a team-building exercise.


Somehow, in between planning for Sozin's Comet and training and dodging Zuko's crazy sister, they'd found a day off, a brush, ink, and paper.

Katara went first, dipping the brush tip in dark ink. Her brushstrokes flowed, like water, as she wrote out three characters. When she finished, she set the brush down in the inkwell. She stuck her tongue out as she eyed her handiwork. "So, what do you think?"

"It's beautiful!" Toph shouted, as she faced the opposite direction, grin on her face. Katara rolled her eyes at the obvious rib and turned to look at Sokka, who was playing with Boomerang.

"Yeah, Sis, it's nice and all..."

"I really like it," Aang said, cheeks turning red. Katara blushed. Sokka rolled his eyes.

Zuko, sitting on a ledge cleaning his dual dao swords, turned to look at the paper and frowned. "That's Common script."

"Yeah. So?" Katara replied. She raised a brow and crossed her arms.

"Well," Zuko hesitated, "Uncle told me that the poles had their own language."

Sokka and Katara looked at each other. Sokka shrugged. "It's complicated."

"Mom and Dad gave us names from our language. These are transliterations into Common," Katara explained. "Gran Gran was the only one who really spoke it. She and Dad talked to and taught us Common so Sokka could read maps and we could deal with traders from the continent...and invaders."

Everyone steadfastly avoided looking at Zuko.

"So," Aang said, bouncing to Katara, "What does your name mean?"

"I..." Katara said, "I'm not sure."

"Oh," Aang fidgeted in response to Katara's awkwardness. "Well," he continued, "I think your name's beautiful...and you are, too." He and Katara blushed as they made googly eyes at each other.

"OK, lovebirds, move aside," Sokka announced, as he walked toward the paper. "It's my turn!"

Katara grabbed Sokka's arm as he lowered the ink-laden brush. "You are not going to put your faceprint on the paper."

"Wait, I told you about that?"

"Snoozles," Toph piped up, "You kind of recounted your entire training with Piandao. In excruciating detail. And off-key."

"Fine. I'll write my name." He scribbled in a thick and hurried script in the column left of Katara's signature and handed the brush to Zuko.

Zuko took the brush. "You're done?"

"My sister likes to make a fuss out of everything. Like writing her name."

"Hey! I heard that!"

"Besides," Sokka ploughed through Katara's protest, "my name has one fewer character. Fits better in haikus that way."

"I can hear Sugar Queen roll her eyes, Snoozles."

As Sokka and Toph debated the logistics of hearing eye rolls, Zuko breathed deeply, the way he did practicing firebending kata at dawn. Frowning in concentration, he pressed the brush to the paper. His deliberate, heavy strokes reminded Aang that Zuko had been Fire Nation royalty. (Sokka read Piandao's training in Zuko's handwriting.)

"Wow," Aang exhaled, as he sat next to Zuko, "Nice."

"Thanks." Zuko scratched the back of his neck. He set the brush down and sighed.

"You know," the firebender murmured, "my father named me. Not Mom. I don't know why. He named my sister after Grandfather. But I never got the chance to ask anyone about me." He turned Aang. "Mom left before I could. I never thought to ask Uncle, and now he's..." He ran his hand through his hair. "I really hope we can make things right."

Aang put a hand on Zuko's shoulder. "We will. We'll find a way to make this right. For everyone."

"Scoot, Sparky." Ignoring everyone else's confusion, Toph took the pen and twirled it on the paper, leaving a writhing mass of ink. She had somehow, thankfully, missed the three names already written. "There." She dusted off her hands.

"Um, Toph?" Katara said, "If you want, I could guide your hand..."

"Thanks, but no thanks. Never learned to write. Blind, remember?" Toph waved a hand in front of her face. "I'd just use a stamp to sign documents. But, seriously, calligraphy practice usually involves writing poetry or drawing landscapes, not signing names." She stood. "I'm out."

"So, is it my turn yet?" Seated before the paper, Aang rubbed his hands together. "Should I dilute the ink? Maybe I should write horizontally, left to right! Or maybe I'll waterbend the ink onto the paper. Wow, that would be awesome! So, what do you think, guys?"

Appa groaned. Momo chittered and flew figure eights around the room.

"Just do it, Twinkle Toes!" Toph yelled from down the hall.

Aang sighed and picked up the brush. Giving Toph's scribble a wide berth, he wrote his name. Then, after a moment's thought, he wrote a line of script. left to right, on the bottom margin of the paper.

"What's that?" Sokka leaned over, polishing Boomerang's edge.

"My name." It had been such a long time since he had seen Air Temple script, let alone written it. The full weight of his culture crashed down on him. "We've been so focused on Sozin's Comet," he murmured.

"What do you mean, Aang?" Katara asked.

"I mean, let's say we succeed. We defeat Ozai, restore peace to the world. Then what?" He traced his name. "I'm the only one left who can read this, let alone write it. When I die, that's it."

"Well, the uni - " Katara's elbow cut off Sokka's reply.

"Aang," Katara put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll take it one step at a time. We'll figure it out, like we have with everything else."

"You're right." Aang stood up. "I can't help worrying, though."

Zuko blasted fire. "Uh, guys?" he said, gesturing to Fire Nation mooks around them, "I think we should go."

* * *

With thanks to my friend who helped me get unstuck.

Originally posted on my Tumblr, nuttysaladtree.


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